HR Works: The Podcast for Human Resources

In September, the DOL released a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding rules for employers to follow when classifying a worker as an independent contractor or an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In this episode, we unpack what these proposed rules would mean for employers with employment lawyer Jacob M. Monty. Jake is managing partner and founder of Monty & Ramirez LLP (https://montyramirezlaw.com/). For over two decades, Jake has successfully practiced at the intersection of immigration, labor, and employment laws. A nationally recognized authority on issues facing employers with large Hispanic workforces, Jake has written not one, but three books on the topic and speaks regularly in English and Spanish on navigating labor and employment matters in industries with heightened immigration scrutiny. His clients include professional baseball teams, grocery store chains, single establishment and chain restaurants, and leading companies in the construction and facility maintenance fields. Jake has been interviewed by major media outlets such as Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC regarding national immigration concerns. Jake founded Monty & Ramirez LLP to offer an integrated approach to dealing with Hispanic workforces. He and his bilingual partners address all the critical aspects of employer advocacy, from immigration to union matters, workplace safety, and employment disputes.

When the leader of a digital identity and access management company wanted to rapidly expand, he needed a configurable training management solution that could handle the pressure. Ultimately, he found more than just a solution, he found a business partner. Through that partnership, both organizations grew to great heights. This is our second episode with our sponsor Administrate (https://www.getadministrate.com/), an EdTech infrastructure platform that provides configurable training management solutions for enterprises across the globe. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, with offices in Montana, USA, and Beirut, Lebanon, Administrate is a diverse, creative software company born from within the training industry that focuses on creating the Ultimate Human Organization in culture, practice, and product. Now in its sixth year, Administrate is proud to support the training teams of Fortune 100 companies in the US, EU, and EMEA regions with a team of 100 talented professionals focused on creating and delivering learning & development technology innovation. Last time we discussed new ways for employers to get a hold of their training metrics to unlock the true potential of their training programs as well as to rapidly expand a training program. Today we have Administrate’s CEO, John Peebles, back with us on the show along with one of his clients to discuss what this process looks like. Before Administrate, John helped found Fort Lauderdale-based Sentry Data Systems, where he served as Chief Information Officer and VP of Operations while it grew to more than $30 million in revenue within five years. He is passionate about education, teamwork, technology, and mental health in the workplace, and often speaks on these subjects around the world. We also have one of John’s clients, Kevin Streater, Vice President of ForgeRock University (https://www.forgerock.com/university) at ForgeRock  Kevin is a leader in the IT Learning and Development industry and currently the Vice President of ForgeRock University at ForgeRock, a leader in digital identity and access management. He is also a Director of CEdMA (Computer Education Managers Association) and is known for innovating unique learning and development initiatives in response to learner analytics. Before ForgeRock, Kevin spent nearly 20 years in various service delivery, project management, and training leadership roles at Sun Microsystems.

Before the pandemic, awareness of the need for a well-crafted and -maintained company culture was high, and HR was making real strides toward taking charge of those efforts. That awareness has only been heightened, and being effective has simultaneously been challenged by the pandemic. How do HR professionals adapt? What tools do they discard, and what tools do they acquire? You can also listen to the episode here: https://bit.ly/37nuiqM In today’s episode, we tackle these questions with Neil Sahota (https://www.neilsahota.com/hrworks/) an IBM Master Inventor, United Nations A.I. Advisor, professor at UC Irvine, and globally-recognized speaker and author. Neil is a founding member of the UN’s Artificial Intelligence for Social Good Committee. He is the author of Own the A.I.Revolution, providing a future-forward look at A.I., focusing on how businesses can use it to commercialize while doing good in the world.

The pandemic has changed so much about how we work together and how we interact. It has also redefined many social norms and etiquette. Layoffs, pay reductions, employee illness, and death have all increased over the last months, and with each comes a difficult conversation. HR has always been positioned to be the people who have to deliver difficult news to employees. Compassion, then, becomes an important currency of how organizations operate today. Uber, for example, has become infamous for how they fired over 3,500 employees over zoom calls. There has to be a better way, and we have with us today an expert in delivering bad news compassionately. In this episode we are pleased to have with us Dr. Anthony Orsini practicing neonatologist and founder of The Orsini Way (https://theorsiniway.com/), join me to discuss tips employers and HR professionals can use when delivering bad news. Dr. Orsini took what he learned as an ICU physician who had to deliver difficult news to families and founded The Orsini Way, a communication training company that helps healthcare professionals and business leaders navigate difficult conversations and build strong relationships.

If you have a learning management system, you probably have access to a boatload of metrics. But what do they really tell you? Do they help you fine-tune your training regiments? One expert suggests that a swath of additional, less common metrics exist and they can help you unlock hidden and meaningful trends within your training process. You may also listen to this track here: https://bit.ly/3lr2OnN In this episode, we will discuss the intersection of training and business intelligence. This episode is sponsored by Administrate (https://www.getadministrate.com/scale-your-training-operations/), and we are pleased to have with us John Peebles, the CEO of Administrate, an EdTech infrastructure platform that provides configurable training management solutions for enterprises across the globe. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, with offices in Montana, USA, and Beirut, Lebanon, Administrate is a diverse, creative software company born from within the training industry that focuses on creating the Ultimate Human Organization in culture, practice, and product. Now in its sixth year, Administrate is proud to support the training teams of Fortune 100 companies in the US, EU, and EMEA regions with a team of 100 talented professionals focused on creating and delivering learning & development technology innovation.  Prior to Administrate, Mr. Peebles helped found Fort Lauderdale-based Sentry Data Systems, where he served as Chief Information Officer and VP of Operations while it grew to more than $30 million in revenue within five years. He is passionate about education, teamwork, technology, and mental health in the workplace, and often speaks on these subjects around the world.

In the last episode of HR Works COVID-19 Update, I was joined by Neurologist and headache expert Dr. Charisse Litchman to discuss how the pandemic has lead to increased screen times and consequently increased headaches. In this episode, we continue our discussion with Dr. Litchman, which includes the topic of how HR can help their employees prevent headaches as well as support them in finding treatment and care. You may also listen to this track here: https://bit.ly/3iFMu0I Charisse Litchman MD, FAHS is a neurologist, headache specialist, and medical advisor to Nurx (https://www.nurx.com/). She received her undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University and her medical degree at Yale School of Medicine. After completing her internship at Yale New Haven Hospital, she completed her neurology residency at Cornell-New York Hospital. She began a solo private practice in general neurology and became board certified in headache medicine in 2008. She left her private practice in 2018 to become faculty at Yale where she is currently Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology. Charisse has published articles in headaches and multiple sclerosis and edited the first textbook on a rare soft tissue tumor.  She has earned a certificate in Medical Editing and Writing from the University of Chicago. Charisse has three children and lives in Connecticut with her husband Mark and her two dogs.

Recent research has shown that the ordinary 11 hours a day of screentime that most employees are exposed to has increased by 3 hours every day since the pandemic began. That amount of screen time leads to more headaches and more serious headaches, an often misunderstood and underappreciated concern for employers and employees alike. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Charisse Litchman (https://www.stamfordhealth.org/find-a-doctor/profile/charisse-litchman/), a Neurologist and headache expert that will help us understand the problem and learn how to help. Charisse Litchman, MD, FAHS is a neurologist, headache specialist, and medical advisor to Nurx (https://www.nurx.com/employers/). She received her undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University and her medical degree at Yale School of Medicine. After completing her internship at Yale New Haven Hospital, she completed her neurology residency at Cornell-New York Hospital. She began a solo private practice in general neurology and became board certified in headache medicine in 2008. She left her private practice in 2018 to become faculty at Yale where she is currently Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology. Charisse has published articles in headaches and multiple sclerosis and edited the first textbook on a rare soft tissue tumor.  She has earned a certificate in Medical Editing and Writing from the University of Chicago. Charisse has three children and lives in Connecticut with her husband Mark and her two dogs.

In this episode, we take a look at some of the DOL’s revisions and reaffirmations of the original FFCRA regulations. That includes clarifications around leave for medical professionals, intermittent leave, and more. You may also listen here: https://bit.ly/3hIREJ1 And we have with us a familiar voice: attorney Maggie Spell (https://www.joneswalker.com/professionals/mary-margaret-spell.html)of Jones Walker (https://www.joneswalker.com/). Maggie focuses her practice on cases brought under federal, state, and local employment laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. She regularly offers wage and hour compliance advice and has represented employers in numerous Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions and state-law wage and hour class actions. Maggie’s litigation experience also includes defending employers in breach of contract and employment-related tort claims. She regularly defends employers and management before state and federal courts throughout the country at the trial and appellate levels, as well as before administrative bodies such as the US Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and similar state agencies.

The pandemic has put a lot of strain on everyday Americans in a host of ways from job losses, riskier work for the same or reduced pay, to financial hardship. You may also listen here: https://bit.ly/2ZPucna Today’s guest believes that employers have a duty to be courageous about financial inclusion and to do whatever they can to help employees manage their money, credit, and debt as part of their voluntary benefits packages. She suggests that employers need more than thought leadership; they need action leadership. We are pleased to have with us today Anita Ward, Chief Development Officer at Salary Finance (https://www.salaryfinance.com/us/), a global provider of financial education and salary-linked savings and loans for employees. Anita Ward is a Cultural Anthropologist whose career has been dedicated to culture, behavior, and the growth and transformation of organizations. Anita has led growth, development, and technology in organizations that include Chase, American General, Safelite Autoglass, Occidental Petroleum, and the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Before recently joining Salary Finance, she was President of Operation HOPE, a non-profit that she streamlined and expanded. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider joining us on September 30th at an event called HR Now, which features a roundtable hosted by Anita called "Why Financial Inclusion Belongs on Your D&I Agenda." Learn more or register here: https://interactive.blr.com/HR-Now.

In this episode, we discuss substance abuse. While always an issue, substance abuse becomes much more widespread and serious during crises. This crisis in particular offers an especially troubling environment for abuse. You may also listen here: https://bit.ly/3cc2Lcc Today’s episode is brought to you by The Standard, a family of businesses united by a shared purpose of compassion for their customers. The Standard’s Workplace Possibilities Program offers a proactive, whole-person approach to disability, helping employers provide customized solutions to help employees stay at work or return sooner. More information on this program can be found here: https://bit.ly/2RevH9U. We are joined by Dr. Dan Jolivet. Dan started working in the behavioral health field in 1980 as he was completing a degree in mathematical statistics and wanted to get some hands-on experience in an applied scientific discipline. Dan has held a variety of roles throughout his career. He has worked in inpatient hospitals, residential treatment centers, partial hospitalization programs, intensive outpatient programs, employee assistance programs and in private practice. He moved into supervision to multiply his impact and began working in managed care soon after that. He joined The Standard as its Behavioral Health Director in 2016 and says his favorite part of the job is still helping people—both claimants and people on his team—find solutions to seemingly intractable problems. Dan received his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Washington, and his master's degree and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Georgia State University.